The Corner closed in KC’s Westport three years ago. Here’s what’s going in that space
For a good chunk of the last century, the space at 4059 Broadway has been known as The Corner.
It was a soda fountain and snack shop called Corner Grill in the 1950s, then after a stint as a vegetarian restaurant in the 1970s it was reopened in 1980 as a steak-and-eggs breakfast joint called The Corner Restaurant. That place closed in 2009 for health code violations. Then, starting in 2013, a new, brunchier Corner Restaurant operated in the space until closing in 2020.
It remains a corner restaurant, but in naming its business, the new tenant has eschewed the building’s heritage. Pinches Tacos plans a mid-September opening there.
“We’re doing an authentic Mexican restaurant, with a focus on street tacos, plus quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas,” said owner John Nilges. “It’ll be mostly counter service, with a full bar. We’ll be open until 1:30 a.m. most nights and we’ll eventually apply for a 3 a.m. license.”
Nilges is the president of Great Western Dining Service, a food service management company for colleges and universities.
“I’ve worked in food since I was a teenager and always wanted to open my own restaurant,” Nilges said. “I got to the point in my career where it’s something I can do, and I wanted to capitalize on this Westport location.”
Running the kitchen, Nilges said, will be Juanelo Hernandez, who is originally from Guadalajara. He has managed Tapatio Mexican Grill in Kansas City, Kansas, and Hacienda Vieja in Independence as well as his own food truck, Ricos Tacos La Coa.
There will soon be two Mexican restaurants within a few blocks of Pinches Tacos. Cancun Fiesta Fresh has operated at 4019 Pennsylvania Ave. for nearly two decades, and Taco Naco KC, now in Overland Park, is planning to open its second location later this summer at 4141 Pennsylvania Ave., in the space formerly occupied by Port Fonda.
“I think we’re different because we’re kind of right in the heart of things at that intersection, and we’re an affordable option where you can either grab and go or sit down and have a few drinks,” Nilges said.
Street tacos on five-inch tortillas — available with carne asada, pollo, chorizo, pastor or campechanos (steak and chorizo combined) — will be $2.25-2.50 apiece, Nilges said. A Sunday brunch, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will feature chilaquiles, breakfast burritos and more, he added.
“Pinches” is an exclamation in Spanish.
Bennie Vitale with Vitale Realtors negotiated the lease. The building is owned by Westport Land & Management.
